Under Lock and Key
by Evomo
Summary: Dramione under unlikely circumstances.
1. Changes

**Hello all! This is my first fanfic... Big Dramione shipper. Erm-would appreciate reviews. Be patient with me, this is going to have alot of build-up. If I get some reviews I'll have the next chapters posted fairly quickly. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise/story/characters. All praise to our Queen, the lovely J.K.  
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**Chapter 1**

In her mind, she imagined an uneven, dirt ground, nearly blanketed in leaves and pine needles. In the ground, she mentally planted numerous trees and brush. Trying so hard to picture this place she once knew, she felt the reassuring pressure of friendly fingertips on each arm, turned on her heels, and opened her eyes.

This place was just as she remembered it. _Nothing's changed,_ she thought. After all this time, she had never thought she would ever see another sight that remained in its former state. Everything had changed since she was last here. It almost seemed odd that there was anything left. Sad, that this was the one last thing about her world that hadn't been completely turned upside down. _Yet, _she added with a sigh.

"Hermione," she heard a voice call from somewhere behind her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm? What is it, Harry?" she called back over her shoulder.

"Some help over here."

Turning, she locked eyes with Harry, standing only a few feet away as he clutched his left wrist with his other hand.

"You alright, mate?" Ron shouted, apparently somewhere in the other direction.

"Yeah," said Harry, sucking air through clenched teeth. "Just got caught on a branch, I suppose."

"Oh, Harry," Hermione groaned. "What've you done now? Here, let me help." She pulled open her bag, magically altered with an Extension Charm, and rummaged around a bit before pulling out some gauze and a small bottle labeled _Essence of Dittany_.

"Here," she said, dabbing at the blood on her friend's wrist, "It's not so bad." Opening the Dittany, she dribbled some onto his wound and watched as it magically resealed his skin. "There," she murmured.

"Ah… Thanks, 'Mione," Harry sighed, looking up at her.

"Don't mention it," she replied, offering a weak smile.

"Hermione," Ron started, having drawn closer to the pair as Hermione returned her medical supplies back to her bag.

"Yes, Ron?" Hermione said, turning to face her other best friend. For reasons unknown, her eyes were drawn to his matted head of red-orange hair, even messier than usual. The rest of him looked no better. With eyes sunken into a dark, discolored face, she found herself become extremely sad at the sight of his hopeless demeanor.

"Where have you taken us now?" Ron questioned, looking up at a thin canopy of barren tree branches.

"The Forest of Dean," she replied. "I've been here once before, with my parents on summer holiday…" She could feel herself tearing up. "It all seems so long ago, so far gone," she choked. _Merlin, Hermione, get a hold of yourself, _she silently scolded. But she couldn't. The tears began to flow as she coughed short, broken sobs. Ron intuitively put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his chest as she cried.

Harry rubbed her shoulder with a comforting hand. "It's alright, Hermione. Everything's alright."

"Oh, _Merlin_, look at me," she choked out between sobs. "I'm so sorry, I've been so tired, and I-I"

"Shh, now, 'Mione," Ron said reassuringly. "We know how hard all this has been on you. On all of us."

"I know," she cried, "But that doesn't mean I have to go and-"

"You'll feel better once we set up camp," said Harry.

"Yeah," agreed Ron. "It's bloody freezing out here. We'll make camp and then we'll set you down with some hot tea and a good book, yeh?"

"Alright," Hermione managed. Turning to see both of their sympathetic and knowing faces, she realized how lucky she was to have two such good friends. No one else could ever possibly know what she was feeling at this moment except for Harry and Ron. They had been so strong throughout everything they had gone through together. Overcome with a great feeling of relief and gratitude, she threw her arms around both of them, feeling right at home as they wound their arms around her. "Thank you," she whispered.

* * *

><p>"'Mione," Harry laughed, "You're nodding off. Put that book down and go to sleep, why don't you?"<p>

Hermione, looking up from her book, gazed at Harry with drooping eyes. Yawning, she mumbled something that sounded like, "Izz 'uite good, you know. You should read it sometime."

"Yeah, sure Hermione," Harry said with a chuckle. "You consider _that_ light reading. I consider it a month's worth of homework." Turning to Ron, who was seated on a cot in the far corner of the tent, he added, "One nice thing about being out here in the middle of nowhere is the fact that we don't have to worry about our marks."

"I hear you, mate," Ron answered. "But might I remind you that we are fighting a war on opposite sides of a number of our old professors, anyway."

Harry was about to reply, but was stopped short just as he opened his mouth by Hermione, who had loudly clapped the pages of her book together, apparently announcing the finishing of her book. "It's too loud in here to read with the two of you, anyway," she said with a sarcastic smile.

"I'll take the first watch, then," announced Ron, who slowly rose from his position on the cot and stretched out his back.

"I'll be out to relieve you in a few hours," called Harry, as Ron turned to leave.

"That's alright, Harry," said Hermione. "I'll take the next watch."

"Hermione, there's really no need, I can-"

"I'm perfectly fine staying up, Harry," she said. "Really. It feels good to have something to do, anyway. I feel useless around here most of the time."

"You're not useless, Hermione. You know that. We all know that," Harry said, walking towards her. "Now, get some sleep. You'll feel better. You look exhausted." He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and then retired to bed.

"Goodnight, Harry," she called after him. Sinking into her cot, she pulled her woolen blanket over her. Usually repulsed by its stench of mildew and itchiness, she was pleasantly comforted by its warmth. As her breathing slowed and eyelids fell, she welcomed the heavy, overpowering feeling of sleep.

* * *

><p>"I've made you some tea," Ron heard a small voice mumble behind him. Turning his head, he saw Hermione, holding a small cup of a steaming liquid in each hand.<p>

Checking his watch, he said, "You're early, 'Mione. You could've slept longer, I still had-"

"I was woken up," she said in a meek, raspy voice.

Alarmed, he stood up. "By what?" he asked, "Something in the forest?"

"No, no," she said, "Nothing like that."

"Then what was it?" he demanded.

"I've just been having these nightmares… It's nothing, really," she insisted at his concerned expression.

"Oh… alright," Ron said, "If you're sure."

"Of course I'm sure," she replied, holding out a cup of tea. Taking it, he gratefully sipped the hot liquid and sat back down on the bed of leaves covering the forest floor. She sunk down next to him, cupping her tea in both hands, which she rested on her lap. Her wild hair was pulled back into a messy bun at the nape of her neck, and as she tilted her head back, Ron was able to see her slender face in the milky-white glow of the moon. He stared at her, noticing each of her individual features. Her mouth was relaxed, producing neither a frown nor a smile as she gazed at the sky. And though he had noticed the appearance of the dark circles under her eyes before, they were exceptionally noticeable in contrast to her now pale, near-white skin.

"I worry about you sometimes, Hermione," he murmured, following her gaze to the sky, which bore a brilliant conglomeration of stars. He noted that they really were quite beautiful out here. He stared into space, losing himself for a moment in the light of the stars, far away from Hermione or the war or any of this horcrux business. He wasn't sure when, but at some point he was snapped back to reality. Not looking back at her, he rather sensed than saw her turn her head to face him.

"How do you mean?" she asked.

"I dunno," he said, "I mean I worry about a lot of people. Mum, Dad, Ginny, Fred, George… But they're not here, so I expect I worry about them because I can never be sure if they're really safe or not. But you…" He now turned his head to look at her. "You're here. I _know_ you're safe. At least, for now. But why, when my whole family is so far away, and I can't see or talk to them, or even know if they're alive or dead… Why do I still worry the most… about you?" It was now that he looked into her eyes. Even though they bore dark circles beneath them, they still possessed the shine, the spark that was Hermione. For a moment he was almost sure that the light that shone from them was not from the stars, but rather the life that radiated from deep within her. He didn't dare take his gaze from that spot, even as she spoke.

"Ron," she started, "It's late, and you're tired. You should go on to bed, now. Get some rest."

He rose, and took a few tentative steps back towards the opening of the tent. "Hermione…" He paused.

"Yes, Ron?"

He was quiet a moment, thinking of all the things he wanted to say to her… of all the things he couldn't put to words. Reaching the entrance to the tent, eyes still fixed upon hers, he murmured:

"The stars are beautiful tonight."


	2. Watch

**Yes, yes. I know what you're all thinking from Chapter 1. However, I did warn you there was going to be a long build up. Hang in there, the chapters aren't that long so I figure I don't have to have the two together for the first few. If I give it all away at once, who's gonna come back for more? Happy reading.**

**Chapter 2**

Hermione had read nearly a full chapter of literature on Advanced Transfiguration before she realized that she hadn't been paying attention to anything on the pages. Frustrated at her inability to concentrate, she slammed the book closed and shoved it off to the side.

_What is wrong with me?_ she thought.

After a particularly chilly gust of wind made her shiver, Hermione whispered a quick warming spell to take the edge off the frosty winter air. Thinking of the strange encounter with Ron earlier, she reached for her tea and absentmindedly sipped at it, nastily surprised when she found that it had gone cold.

"Ugh," she groaned, wrinkling her nose at the unpleasant taste. Checking her wrist, she found that she had only half an hour left of her watch before she was to wake up Harry.

_How time flies when you're having absolutely no fun at all,_ she thought ironically.

Bored, and searching for something to pay attention to, her eyes drifted once again to her discarded Transfiguration book. While debating whether or not to pick it back up, she heard the distinct sound of a twig breaking from somewhere to her left.

Her head snapped up, and though her heart began to beat faster inside her chest, she tried her best to quiet her breathing. Straining her ears for any sort of sound, she began to think the noise had come from some sort of animal wandering through the woods, or perhaps she had imagined it…

Until she heard it again.

_Yes, I'm positive I heard it that time,_ she thought.

She rose slowly, and began making her way towards the sound. As she approached the barrier of protection spells, she raised her wand and whispered a silencing spell as she passed through the invisible field. Now noiselessly making her way through the trees, she began to detect the faint sound of footsteps from somewhere up ahead.

_You'd be insane to go camping out here when it's _this _freezing, _Hermione considered. Then, _who is that?_

Through the brush, Hermione spotted someone; a man. He looked perhaps in his late twenties, and was dressed raggedly in ripped black pants, a dirty gray shirt, and a worn-looking black jacket. Hermione thought he might have been a common bum, but his face was shaven and he had what Mrs. Weasley would call "meat on his bones." Searching for any possible explanation for this man's arrival in their forest, she hugged a tree to hide as he made his way past her…

And pulled out a wand.

_Fuck. Snatchers._

Racing through her mind, Hermione struggled to find anything she could do, hopefully with a positive outcome. _Snatchers…Snatchers don't just wander around alone. So where are the rest of them?_ Looking around, Hermione saw no others. _So maybe he's a scout_, she thought. _Either way, if he doesn't get back to whoever it is he's supposed to, they're going to know something's out here. Oh, fuck, Hermione, _think. _I've got to get him away from camp._

All in all, Hermione knew there was only really one solution. With a deep breath, she raised her wand.

"_Confringo!_"

An earsplitting crack resonated throughout the wood as a large pine tree fell to the earth, slightly charred. Hermione, spinning around, was relieved to see the Snatcher had stopped and turned, alarmed at the sudden commotion. However, her relief was short-lived, as the Snatcher began making his way directly towards her.

_I just hope that was loud enough for Harry and Ron to hear, _she prayed as she sprinted thirty or so yards away to hide behind the wide trunk of an oak tree. Waiting for the Snatcher to make his way up the small incline that led to the fallen pine, she peeked cautiously around the oak for any sign of movement.

_It's too goddamn dark, _Hermione cursed, though she thought she could hear the sound of footsteps coming closer…

Sure enough, out of the darkness appeared the Snatcher, cautiously examining the scorched tree that had fallen due to Hermione's spell. If only he were a bit closer, she would be able to stun him and perhaps perform a quick memory charm. However, he was at such an angle that she would have had to give up her hiding place just to get a good glance at him. Peering over her shoulder as best as she could, she stayed perfectly still, holding her breath as the Snatcher neared her hiding spot.

Positioning her wand to get a good shot, she spoke her stunning spell quietly but firmly. "_Stu-_"

But she was cut off by a pair of hands that grabbed her by her hair, yanked her head backwards, and caused her to cry out, dropping her wand. Her screams were muffled by a hand in a black leather glove covering her mouth. She kicked and shrieked, trying to get free, but to no avail. She tried twisting her body around to see the face of her captor, but stopped as soon as she felt the tip of a wand dig into the skin of her throat.

"You stay perfectly still now, sweet'eart." A low, gravelly breath of a voice snaked down the back of her neck, making her squirm. "Wha' are we gonna do wi-"

"Oi!" Hermione heard a voice shout from somewhere to her right.

_There are more of them, _she thought as a feeling of absolute dread washed over her. Footfalls sounded on a bed of dry leaves as her captors drew closer. Apart from the one holding a wand to her throat, there were two Snatchers dressed in dark, ragged clothes before her. The first, she saw, was the one whom she had been trying to drive away from the campsite, though she could put no name to his face. The second, she knew; from his stormy gray eyes to his worn black boots. Scabior leaned down to make Hermione's eyes level with his. His mangled brown hair hung limply just inches from her face, and she could smell his foul breath as he spoke.

"Hello, beautiful."


	3. Gloss

**Mainly a set-up for the next chapter. IF any of you would like to know what happens next, PLEASE review.**

**-Evomo**

**Chapter 3**

"_No- NO!"_

"_Shut it!" An angry voice roared and a hand snapped into the side of her face. The scene seemed to spin and waver for a moment. Then, to someone else, the voice hissed, "Hold her still, you bloody idiot. Come on, this one's not going to the Ministry."_

_An icy breath crawled down her neck as the loathsome words fell from unforgiving, toxic lips._

"_I think there's someone else you'll want to meet."_

Hermione recalled the faint echoes of the night's events as she stirred, though she was unsure how she had lost consciousness in the first place. Her body was sore and her clothes were torn. She looked positively out of place among the glossy black floors beneath her. They were spotless and she would have thought them beautiful had she not woken up sprawled across them, confused and wandless. Her eyes fluttered open, but she otherwise dared not move as her mind cleared and she became aware of the sound of voices coming from somewhere behind her.

"Yes, but are you _sure-__"_

"I can assure you, Lucius, _she__is_ the girl."

_Lucius?__As__in__Malfoy?_ Hermione thought.

"The one traveling with Potter? The Mudblood? Greyback, are you absolutely positi-"

"I saw her picture in _The_ _Prophet_ only yesterday," the other insisted. Then, urgently, "We must inform-"

"Where did they find her?"

"West Gloucestershire, hiding out somewhere in a forest. She was wandering-"

"Alone?" Lucius asked, incredulously.

"They found no others," Greyback confirmed. "Scabior came across her when her spell misfired and almost brought down a pine on top of him. Now, Lucius…"

Hermione had stopped listening. _Harry__and__Ron.__Safe,_she thought. _Oh,__Godric,__they__'__re__safe._ She turned her attention back on her current situation. Assessing herself, she noticed no injuries, save a couple of cuts and bruises on her hands, which probably continued up the length of her arms. As far as she knew, her captors had not yet noticed that she had regained consciousness; however, she could only assume that they would soon, and that she had only a few precious moments before they returned their attention to her. _Malfoy__Manor,_ she mused. She strained her eyes around as best as she could without moving her head, and noted that she was facing a gray stone railing, rounded and flanked by matching stone pillars. She could not see much else without moving, though she supposed that's why she was laid here, where she wouldn't be able to observe much of anything.

A loud _bang_ snapped her back to attention. The room had gone silent. _Have__they__left?_Hermione wondered. _No,__of__course__not.__Someone__'__s__come._Sure enough, the sound of heels across the floors grew louder as another resident of the Manor entered the room.

Hermione heard hushed whispers coming from where the two Death Eaters had been talking. Then a male voice spoke out. "Excuse me," it said. "Good day." _Not__Lucius.__Greyback._When there was no reply, Hermione heard footsteps, marking the departure of the werewolf.

"Well?" a cold voice asked, expectantly. "Where is it?"

"Good afternoon, Bellatrix," Lucius replied coolly. "Y-"

"I asked you a question. _Where__is__it?_"

"T-the-?"

"The Mudblood, you idiot!"

"She's…" he trailed off, obviously shaken by the witch's unpredictable ferocity. Apparently, it did not matter if he answered or not. Hermione felt Bellatrix's shoes clack against the floor, coming closer, coming for _her._

_Oh,__God,_ Hermione thought. _The__ things __Bellatrix__ would__ do__ to__ me..._

Apparently it did not matter whether or not her captors knew of her consciousness during their conversation. All thoughts of Hermione's were suddenly interrupted as she felt a crushing pain in her jaw as Bellatrix dug her heel into her cheek. She tried to twist away, only earning her an even harder smashing from Bellatrix's boot. She tasted blood in her mouth.

"So, Mudblood," Bellatrix cooed, the pitch of her voice rising with her ever-present sense of derangement. "Tell me. Why were we wandering all alone in the dark, scary, forest?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Mmm?" She released Hermione from under her shoe, and strolled around her motionless form to her front side. Hermione coughed, specks of blood sprinkling the floor in front of her. She groaned.

"Lucius," Bellatrix called, not looking up from Hermione, like a hunter fixed upon its prey. Hermione kept her gaze fixed upon the small crimson droplets on the floor, not daring to meet Bellatrix's unsettling gaze. "Us girls are gonna have a little talk."

"Are you sure-"

"Leave us!" she shrieked, her head shooting up to fix her demented stare upon the other Death Eater, only momentarily looking away from Hermione's body, paralyzed with fear. Only a second passed before Hermione heard Lucius footsteps signal his exit, and Bellatrix pulled out a dagger.

_Oh, Godric, help me._


End file.
